Nanotechnology in Connecticut, USA: Market Report

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Introduction

Connecticut is located in the northwestern United States and covers a total area of 14,357 km2. The population of Connecticut was reported to be 3,580,709 in 2011.

New Canaan is regarded as the most affluent town in Connecticut with a per capita income of $85,459. The state's 2010 GSP was $237 billion.

In the fiscal year 2011-2012 Connecticut undertook a bold new economic plan to reverse decades of stagnant job growth and stimulate business development under the guise of the First Five program. In parallel, The Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development have also changed their approach to try and make their state more business friendly. One of the priorities of this initiative was to nurture and drive innovation.

Connecticut's Governor also implemented Bioscience Connecticut in 2011 as another initiative to jumpstart the local economy. The plan is to makes significant investments into the states Bioscience research facilities and to grow the number of jobs in biomedical research.

The state also boasts well established aerospace and advanced manufacturing capabilities and Connecticut continues to play a leading role in clean and renewable energy.

Nanotechnology Organizations

A brief introduction to the key nanotechnology-related organization in Connecticut is given below:

Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology: A nonprofit corporation that offers a variety of services to educators, manufacturers, high-technology companies etc. This center focuses on conducting research and field-testing activities to analyze the effectiveness of using nanotechnology in fulfilling the requirements of the U.S. industry.

Nanotechnology Companies

The major nanotechnology-related companies in Connecticut are listed below along with a brief introduction to each of them:

Inframat: Inframat was formed in 1995 by Dr. Peter Strutt, Dr. James Hsiao, Dr. Bernard Kear, Dr. Alvin Salkind, and Dr. Danny Xiao as a research company. The Company's mission was to develop and commercialize certain nanotechnology advancements developed by Dr. Strutt at The University of Connecticut under the Nanoprecision Manufacturing Program funded by Connecticut Innovations Inc. The founders envisioned a company using its leading edge knowledge of material science and nanotech to develop surface coatings and advanced materials that would provide unique characteristics to the products in which they were used. During 2009-2010, the focus of the company was narrowed to four key product groups:

Thermal Spray Products and SPS

Nanomagnetics

Specialty Industrial Coatings

Sponsored Research

Inframat Advanced Materials: Inframat® Advanced Materials LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Inframat® Corporation and has been created to concentrate efforts on the manufacturing, sourcing and distribution of advanced materials throughout the world. Inframat® has expertise in the burgeoning field of nanomaterials and will continue to offer a strong technology advantage in this area through its Advanced Materials subsidiary which is co-located with the parent company.

US Nanocorp: US Nanocorp®, Inc. ('USN') was incorporated in 1996 as a vehicle to identify, develop, and commercialize breakthrough technologies in the field of energy storage and energy conversion devices which exploit the extraordinary properties of nanostructured materials. USN's pioneering technology areas include thermal spray of active materials for thin film battery and fuel cell electrodes and the use of fuzzy logic methods to manage the operation of batteries and fuel cells.

Yale Universitypromotes the study of nanotechnology through the below mentioned research groups.

Elimelech Lab: Currently conducts research on the study of nanomaterials in aquatic systems. In general the researchers in this lab focus on varied disciplines that include nanotechnology, molecular biology, colloid/surface science and separation science.

Recent Developments

The Southern Connecticut State University recently decided to implement the NanoProfessor Nanoscience Education Program as part of an initiative to promote the study of nanotechnology. NanoInk's NLP 2000 Desktop NanoFabrication System and NanoProfessor's curriculum will be housed in the physics department at the Southern Connecticut State University.

Western Connecticut State University has also decided to expand the study of nanotechnology by introducing a number of new nanotech-based courses with the first course dealing with an Introduction to Nanotechnology

The medical field also welcomed new nano-based technologies with the latest being the development of a microfluidic device that can be used to detect oral cancer. Researchers from the University of Connecticut came up with this new invention and also suggested that the microfluidic device can detect other forms of cancer.

A novel fabrication technique called selective area atomic layer deposition involving rectennas or nano-antennas developed by Assoc. Prof. Brian Willis of the University of Connecticut could provide the breakthrough required to vastly improve existing solar energy systems.

These initiatives to spread the awareness of nanotechnology through education should start to pay dividends in the coming years although it seems biosciences and renewable energy are already starting to reap the rewards in the state of Connecticut .